In Calcutta Football League (CFL) 2019, East Bengal on Thursday defeated city rivals Mohammedan SC 3-2 at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake, Kolkata. With the win, East Bengal moved atop the CFL 2019 points table as they continue their brilliant run in the coveted tournament. East Bengal now have 20 points in 10 games while Mohammedan SC have 19 in 11 matches. Peerless would be looking to win their match against New Barrackpore Rainbow and fight East Bengal for the top spot. At the moment, Peerless are third in the table with 17 points in nine matches.

Pintu Mahata started the scoring for East Bengal after heading home an inch-perfect cross by Ronaldo Oliviera. However, the lead didn’t last long for the Red and Gold Brigade as Borja Gomez scored an own-goal to change the scoreline to 1-1. It was belted free-kick by Mohammedan’s Kareem which deflected off Borja to crash inside the netting. The defender was soon subbed off owing to an injury. East Bengal dominated possession in the first half but Mohammedan SC did well to counter them with some lightning-quick wing play.

With the score locked at 1-1, everyone was looking for a first-half draw but a Saiful red-card, on the brink of the first-half whistle, changed the course of the game as the referee pointed towards the spot for a penalty. Jaime Santos Colado stepped up to take the responsibility and slotted home a calm penalty to hand East Bengal the lead as the first half ended 2-1 in favour of the Red and Gold Brigade.

The second half began with a high tempo for East Bengal and Marcos Espada extended the lead for East Bengal to 3-1 as he headed a Lalrindika Ralte cross after coming as a substitute. However, Mohammedan’s Kouassi rattled the net with a thumping strike to bring Mohammedan SC back into the game.